First member newsletter of 2023

Happy New Year! I’m back with the weekly Member Newsletter, with a slightly different format, but the same passion for making a difference in our state. I’ve got a few things to share about the site itself, then the list of content that got published in the past week.

Site Notes & News

Site update – As you know if you have looked at the site in the past week, we have a new look and a bunch of new features. You can read all about them here.

Featured topic sections – As part of the new site design, we have added two new topic sections to the menu: KYGA23 and Election23. Each of these will have only stories related to that topic, and are a good way to quickly see the latest in those sections.

Quickly checking for new content – Speaking of latest, if you hit the “Latest” heading on the front page, you’ll get a list of everything posted on the site in chronological order.

New newsletter – We’ve started a new newsletter, the Daily Story List, that is just a listing of the latest stories on the site. If you would like to get that in your inbox, rather than having to visit the site, then sign up for it in your account profile. Note that it is available to any member of the site, both free and paid.

Bill Trackers are back!

That’s right – once again we have rolled out the most complete set of bill trackers in the state! I’ve added them to the menu, so you can get to them easily. There’s a video explaining how to use a bill sheet, and different trackers as well. Remember that you have to be a paid member to use the Bill Trackers, so if you are on the Friend (free) membership, now would be a good time to upgrade!

This Week at ForwardKY

Here’s all the content posted this week on the site. Just click the card to jump to that post if you missed it.

Most-viewed post this week

Kentucky library board starts down the road to censorship

“It’s just one book,” they said. But once you’ve started banning books, when do you stop?

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Stories this week

A new year – and a ‘new’ Forward Kentucky!

Welcome to 2023 – and a redesigned Forward Kentucky with many new features and a new look!

Forward KentuckyBruce Maples

The State of the Race as of 1/8/23

Money doesn’t determine the winner, but it certainly affects a candidate’s chances. Here’s the latest on Election 2023.

Forward KentuckyForward Kentucky

Comparing Kevin McCarthy to ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge – really?

Maybe comparing McCarthy to Calvin Coolidge – whose policies led to the Great Depression – isn’t the best idea.

Forward KentuckyBerry Craig

Hakeem Jeffries explains Dem principles – using the alphabet

The leader of the Democrats in the U.S. House laid out what they stood for, in a speech the video of which went viral almost immediately.

Forward KentuckyForward Kentucky

The deadline has passed. Who’s in for 2023?

The moment you’ve all been waiting for: seeing who is ACTUALLY in for the 2023 election.

Forward KentuckyTrent Garrison

Regressive Kentucky laws are bringing back the Bad Old Days

At one time, we passed bills that actually HELPED our people. Why are we going backwards?

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Justice Lambert named deputy chief justice of Supreme Court

She succeeds Justice Lisabeth Hughes, who retired in December.

Forward KentuckyForward Kentucky

Think blue counties are worse to live in than red counties? Think again.

Many of my Republican friends believe gun deaths and other forms of violence are worse in Blue states than in Red ones. The facts, as revealed in data from the recent census, as well as from the CDC and the IRS, tell a very different story.

Forward KentuckyKen Wolf

Repubs ignore pleas to invest in our people, give giant tax break to the rich

For most Kentuckians, additional sales taxes will wipe out the tax cut.

Forward KentuckyForward Kentucky

KCEP responds to passage of yet another income tax cut

The following is a statement from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy on the passage today of HB 1.

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Wednesday News & Notes

A few political blurbs from across the state

Forward KentuckyForward Kentucky

Biden, McConnell, governors trumpet bipartisan funding for Ohio River bridge

‘ . . . no matter who gets elected, once it’s all over, we ought to look for things we can agree on and try to do those,’ says McConnell

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Be careful what you wish for

The wealthiest among us are about to get a tax cut of thousands of dollars. Guess who is going to pay for it?

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Will Congress use the 14th Amendment on Trump?

And what happens if they don’t? Jesse Wegman of the NYT and historian Brian Clardy weigh in.

Forward KentuckyBerry Craig

Is the right to contraception about to end in America?

As of last week, Republican efforts to ban birth control in America have officially started, and teenagers in Texas are its first victims.

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

The wealthy are the winners while the Commonwealth loses

A tax cut that mainly goes to the wealthy will cost the state more than we spend on preschool for the entire state.

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Ky. Supreme Court rejects Beshear’s claim that legislature wrongly curbed his emergency powers

The legislation in question was a response to Beshear’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Forward KentuckyGuest Author

Biden to make a pit stop in Covington Wednesday to talk Brent Spence, jobs

The president will be joined by Senators Mitch McConnell and Sherrod Brown, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Forward KentuckyGuest Author